Mute for stringed instruments

ABSTRACT

A mute having a groove in one direction to fit over the edge of the bridge of a violin or other stringed instruments, at least one slot of limited dimensions to allow the mute to be slipped onto a string or strings and to remain there both when the mute is in use and when it is not, and one of two channels or passageways perpendicular to the groove to encircle one or two strings.

United States Patent Henryk Kaston l0 Woodlands Ave., White Plains, N.Y.

May 26, 1969 Jan. 5, 1971 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No.735005, June 6, 1968, now abandoned.

Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented MUTE FOR STRINGED INSTRUMENTS 14Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 84/310 lnt. Cl. G10d 3/04 Field of Search 84/274, 310, 31 1, 273

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 126.040 3/1941 Alemany84/273UX 759,375 5/1904 lstas 84/310 2,175,007 10/1939 Warner 84/3112,483,268 9/1949 Fawick 84/310 Primary Examiner-Richard B. WilkinsonAssistant Examiner.lohn F. Gonzales AttorneyDonald P. Gillette ABSTRACT:A mute having a groove in one direction to fit over the edge of thebridge of a violin or other stringed instruments, at least one slot oflimited dimensions to allow the mute to be slipped onto a string orstrings and to remain there both when the mute is in use and when it isnot, and one of two channels or passageways perpendicular to the grooveto encircle one or two strings.

PATENTEUJAN 5197! 3,552,255

SHEET 1 [IF 2 INVEN'I'UR. flay/WK Mam Y 12 QM A max PATENTEDJAN 5:971 v3,552,255

' SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTOR. HEM/UK AAJTD/Y (WWW . MUTE FOR STRINGEDINSTRUMENTS This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.

735,005, filed Jun. 6, I968, now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION Mutes for stringedinstruments are usually made so that they clamp onto the relativelysharp edge of the bridge that .transmits vibrationsfrom the strings tothe body of the instrument.

The exact analysis of the acoustical modification in sound transmissionproducedby the mute is complex, as indeed the analysis of soundproduction by the-instrument is itself most complex. Suffice'it' to saythat the mute does add mass to the transmit such harmonicsas readily. r

The musi'cal effect of amine is quite noticeable and many bridge andperhaps damps out someof the high harmonicsol the .string vibrations orat least does. not permit the bridge to FIG. 2 is a perspective view ofone embodiment of a mute of the type shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view ofthe mute in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the mute in FIG. I;

FIG. Sis a modified embodiment ofthe mute in the FIG. I- -4; and

FIG. 6 is another embodiment of a mute according to the invention.

The violin 11 shown in FIG. 1 is conventional and need not be describedin detail. It has a body 12 and a neck 13 on which four strings l5-l8are strung between four tuning pegs .23 at the end of the neck and atailpiece 24. Standing on the body is a bridge 26 with notches throughwhich the strings are guided. The active part of each of the strings isbetween the bridge and the tuning pegs, while the other part of eachstring between the bridge 26 and the tailpiece 24 is considered theinactive, or dead, part. The inactive part of each string is quite shortand its resonant frequency would there be quite high.

In a regular violin the strings l5-18 are tuned to the notes G, D, A, B,respectively. A mute 27 is shown on the D String at the bridge. The mute27 is also shown in dotted lines in an alternative position. The latterportion is that occupied by the mute when the violinist isplayingnormally, unmuted musical compositions callfor muted passages forvarious stringed instruments. Such passagesmay berather'short and mayoccur after only a short rest, duringwhich the musician [must put'themute into place in such'a way that it. is not in danger offallingoffin'the middle ofithe muted passage and does notsubstantiallyaffect the activelength, and thereby thefundamentalfrequency, of any of thestrings,

Musiciansmay carry a numberof mutes in their pockets to 'besureto' haveone readily available when it is needed during a performance, since itis quite cornmon'to lose a mute while it is being put on or after it hasbeen taken off, and normally it would b'e impossible or at leastinconvenient .to search for a lost muteduring' a -performance. 1 I

Heretofore mutes have been moldedjof elastic material in a simplebifurcated-shape that allowed them to be slid onto the upper, rathersharp edg'e of the. bridge" between twoof thestrings. Nothing preventedsuch a mute fromfalling-off except the pinching pressure of its own twoparts, and in order to increasethis pressure, Wire hasbeen'molded intothe elastic material, which substantially increased the cost of themute.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION a In accordance with thepresentjinvention', a mute is provided with one of more channels orpassageways through its body and one:of more cuts to permit the mute tobe slipped onto one or more of the strings and left there. In additionto the body with the passageway through it, the mute comprises a secondpart that serves as a clamp to attach the mute to the bridge. Forexample, the mute may be made of rubber or other relatively soft elasticmaterial molded or formed with a groove substantially perpendicular tothe passageway or passageways. The groove partially divides the muteinto two parts elastically joined together. The size of the passagewaymust be sufficient to allow the clamping portion to be raised up overthe edge of the bridge without completely disengaging the mute from thestring. When the mute passage is finished, the mute may be disengagedfrom the bridge and allowed to hang on the inactive part of the stringor strings between the bridge and the tailpiece of the instrument, readyto be used again at any time.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a mutewhich is always attached to the musical instrument at a place close tothe location in which it will be used. Other objects may be determinedfrom the'following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 shows a violin with a mute constructed according to thisinvention;

through it with relatively long sides 31 and 32 and a relatively shortside 33. A slot 34 is cut clear through the lower part of the body 28and into the channel 29. For reasons to be described hereinafter,theslot 34 enters the channel 29 at a re- .gion along one of the longersides 32 somewhat removed from the short side 33 and, in particular,away from either corner where the short side 33 meets one of the longsides 31 or 32.

. The mute 27 has a divided clamping portion 36:: and 36b separated fromeach other by an enlarged continuation 29a of the channel 29. Theclamping portion may be, and in this embodiment is, formed along withthe body portion 28 by molding the mute.

. 26 gripped between the body portion 28 and the clamping portion 36.The active part of the string 16 is to the left of the bridge and theinactive part to the right. The clamping action occurs when the upperedge of the bridge enters a groove, or slot, 37 between the body portion28 and the clamping portion 36.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the mute 27 on the bridge 26. The reason forthe enlarged channel 29a can be more easily visualized in this viewwhich shows that the sides of the enlarged channel 29a do not touch theactive part of the string 16, although the sides 31 and 32 can and dotouch the inactive part of the string just behind the bridge 26.

As may be also seen in FIG. 4, the vertical distance from the short side33 of the channel 29 to the bottom edges of the clamping portions 36aand 36b must be great enough to allow the bottom edges of the clampingportions to clear the top of the bridge 26 when the mute 27 is lifted upso that the string occupies the position 16a shown in broken lines. Thisis required to allow the mute to be slipped onto and off of the bridgeeasily, although, since the mute 27 will normally be made of rubber or asimilar elastomeric substance, it may be stretched a bit if the verticaldistance between the short side 33 and the lower edges of the clampingportions 36a and 36b is not quite sufficient.

The slot 34 is shown in FIG. 4 as having a tapered form. Thisfacilitates attaching the mute to the string while still making itdifiicult for the mute to become disengaged to easily. It is for thesame reason that the slot 34 intersects the channel 29 above the shortside 33 and not at one of the corners.

When the mute is to be moved from the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 tothe inactive position, the concave side surfaces of the body portionmake it easy to grasp. The mute is then lifted so that the clampingportions 36a and 36b clear the bridge. Thereafter, the mute may bedropped, in which case it will hang freely on the inactive portion ofthe string between the bridge and the tailpiece, or it can be pressedagainst the string to wedge the latter in the narrow part of the channel29 between the sides 31 and 32.

While the mute 27 has been described as being attached to the D string,it may be attached to any of the strings. Furthermore, although theinstrument 11 shown in FIG. 1 is a violin, a similar mute, although ofdifferent size, may be used with the viola, cello, bass or otherstringed instruments.

FIG. 5 shows a modified form of mute with an elongated handle 35 thatextends from the body 28 at the end of the body adjacent the narrowestportion of the channel 29. In

other respects the mute is similar to that in FIG. 2. As may be seen inFIG. 5, I when the mute is in its inactive position, the elongatedhandle 35 extends far enough from the body of the mute to prevent themute from twisting completely upside down on the string 16. The reasonthis is desirable is that it has been found that when the mute doestwist upside down, as it can in the absence of the handle, the musicianmay have some difficulty in locating it by feel and must then look forit. The handle keeps the mute from becoming momentarily lost in this wayand assures that the body of the mute will always be in the properposition to slip over the edge of the bridge.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of a mute that has two passageways 39and41 with spaced centers apart a distance substantially equal to thespacing between two of the strings, for example the strings 16 and 17,of the violin. The body of the mute 38 has the general configuration ofa circular cylinder, one portion of which, identified by referencenumeral 42 is behind the bridge 26, here shown in broken lines. Thecross section of the cylindrical body need not be circular, althoughthat shape facilitates manufacture of the mute. The other part of thebody of the mute 38 is an extension 43 separated from the portion 42 bya groove, or notch, 44 so that the mute can be slipped down upon theupper edge of the bridge with the larger portion 42 behind the bridge 26and the portion 43 in front of it and serving to clamp the mute to thebridge by frictional engagement.

The dimensions of the passageways 39 and 41 relative to the depth of thegroove 44 are such that the mute can be lifted vertically upward so asto be disengaged from the edge of the bridge 26 without effecting theposition of the strings l6 and 17 on the bridge. This means that thedepth of the groove 44 must be less than the distance from the bottom ofthe passageway 39 and 41 to the upper edge of the bridge 26 on which thestrings 16 and 17 lie.

In order to slip the mute onto the strings 16 and 17 two slits 46 and 47are cut on the passageways 39 and 41, respectively, to the outer edge ofthe body 38. In the embodiment shown these slits are in the portion 42of the body and they go directly from the passageways 39 and 41 toapproximately the closest part of the body portion 42.

The mute 38 shown in FIG. 6 may be attached by being placed in aposition more or less parallel to the strings l6 and 17 and between thebridge 26 and the tailpiece 24 (FIG. 1)

' to said bridge.

to rest freely on that part of the strings between the bridge and thetailpiece when no muting action'is desired: Because the mute 38 fitsaround two strings, there is no danger that it will slip upside down orout of sight.

l. A mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge. said mutecomprising: a body'comprising a'clamping portion; a channel throughsaidbody; a substantially closed slot through said body to said channelto permit said body to' he slipped onto a string of said instrument; anda leg extending alongside said clamping portion and resiliently biasedtoward said clamping portion to pinch an edge of said bridge betweensaid legzand said clamping portion.

The mute o c arm 1 In which said body IS entirely one piece of resilientmaterial and has a surface that is soft relative 3. The mute of claim 2in which said mute is made of rubber.

4. The mute of claim 2 in which said leg is an integral part of saidbody.

5. The mute of claim 1 in which said channel is elongated in onedirection and said leg extends from one end of said body near one end ofsaid channel toward the opposite end of said body. 6. The mute of claim5 comprising, in addition: a handle extending from said one end of saidbody portion to prevent said mute from rotating more than apredetermined amount on said string. I

7. The mute of claim 6 in which a partof said channel extends throughsaid leg and the free end ot'said leg is bifurcated by said channel.

8. The mute of claim 7 in which the portion of saidchannel through saidleg is wider than the thickness of said string adjacent to said bridge.

9. The mute of claim 7 in which an end of said leg is integral with saidbody and the portion of said channel through said leg extends farthertoward the integral end of said leg and said body than the adjoiningportion of said channel through said and then twisting the mute to forcethe strings l6 and 17 through the slits 46 and 47 and into thepassageways 39 and 41. The mute will then remain attached to thesestrings and can either be placed on the bridge 26, as indicated, orallowed body.

10. The mute of claim 1 in which said leg is an integral por- 'tion ofsaid body and extends along one side thereof and is joined thereto in alimited region, the remainder of said leg facing said body and formingtherewith a groove to fit over and resiliently hold said bridge. 1

11. The mute of claim 10 in'which said channel extends into said regionfarther than said groove, whereby, when said mute is pressed onto saidbridge as far as possible; a portion of said channel will extend abovesaid bridge.

12. The mute of claim 1 comprising, in addition: a second channelthrough said body; and a second substantially closed slot through saidbody to said second channel to permit said body to be slipped onto asecond stringof said instrument at the same timeit is slipped onto saidfirst-named string.

13.,The mute of claim 12 in which said first-named channel and saidsecond channel are spaced apart a distance substan tially equal to thespacing about said first-named string and said second string and saidchannels. are large enough to encircle said strings without touchingthem.

14. The mute of claim 12 in which each of said slots extends directlyfrom its respective channel to the outer perimeter of said body.

1. A mute for a stringed instrument having a bridge, said mute comprising: a body comprising a clamping portion; a channel through said body; a substantially closed slot through said body to said channel to permit said body to be slipped onto a string of said instrument; and a leg extending alongside said clamping portion and resiliently biased toward said clamping portion to pinch an edge of said bridge between said leg and said clamping portion.
 2. The mute of claim 1 in which said body is entirely one piece of resilient material and has a surface that is soft relative to said bridge.
 3. The mute of claim 2 in which said mute is made of rubber.
 4. The mute of claim 2 in which said leg is an integral part of said body.
 5. The mute of claim 1 in which said channel is elongated in one direction and said leg extends from one end of said body near one end of said channel toward the opposite end of said body.
 6. The mute of claim 5 comprising, in addition: a handle extending from said one end of said body portion to prevent said mute from rotating more than a predetermined amount on said string.
 7. The mute of claim 6 in which a part of said channel extends through said leg and the free end of said leg is bifurcated by said channel.
 8. The mute of claim 7 in which the portion of said channel through said leg is wider than the thickness of said string adjacent to said bridge.
 9. The mute of claim 7 in which an end of said leg is integral with said body and the portion of said channel through said leg extends farther toward the integral end of said leg and said body than the adjoining portion of said channel through said body.
 10. The mute of claim 1 in which said leg is an integral portion of said body and extends along one side thereof and is joined thereto in a limited region, the remainder of said leg facing said body and forming therewith a groove to fit over and resiliently hold said bridge.
 11. The mute of claim 10 in which said channel extends into said region farther than said groove, whereby, when said mute is pressed onto said bridge as far as possible, a portion of said channel will extend above said bridge.
 12. The mute of claim 1 comprising, in addition: a second channel through said body; and a second substantially closed slot through said body to said second channel to permit said body to be slipped onto a second string of said instrument at the same time it is slipped onto said first-named string.
 13. The mute of claim 12 in which said first-named channel and said second channel are spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the spacing about said first-named string and said second string and said channels are large enough to encircle said strings without touching them.
 14. The mute of claim 12 in which each of said slots extends directly from its respective channel to the outer perimeter of said body. 